Static-mixing or motionless-mixing mixers have been found to be effective for mixing together two or more fluid streams. Typically, such static or motionless mixers comprise a plurality of baffle-type or plate-like elements disposed in a particular arrangement within a conduit, to provide for a plurality of subdivisions of the fluid stream, as two or more streams are passed from one to the other end of the conduit containing the motionless mixer. A wide variety of various baffle and plate designs of different shapes and geometric configurations have been proposed and used in connection with motionless mixers.
One motionless mixer which employs semielliptical blade elements is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,061 which discloses a static-mixing element of angularly disposed baffles, which baffles deflex and mix two or more fluid streams. The individual blades of the baffle elements are firmly attached to the interior surface of the surrounding conduit. U.S. Pat. No. 3,235,003 discloses a plurality of various pairs of semielliptical baffle elements with a conduit to induce helical flow; however, this patent relates primarily to mufflers and heat exchangers in the mixing of gases. Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,258, concerns a motionless mixer formed by deforming flat stock material. The mixing elements include substantially identical segments or halves, with the segments being axially staggered and in engagement with each other generally along the axis. Such a motionless mixer provides for connections between the points of engagement. The motionless mixer is composed of a plurality of identical, generally flat plates that are joined together, each at the opposite ends. The motionless mixer is formed by slitting a flat sheet substantially equal to the axial length of the ultimate length of the blades, with the slits being interconnected by connecting portions. The plates are then bent in opposite directions, to produce equal angles for the respective adjacent plates.
Typically, in the method of manufacturing motionless mixers, the material cost of the motionless mixer is quite low, while the manufacturing cost tends to be quite high. It is, therefore, desirable to provide for a method of manufacturing a motionless mixer and an effective motionless mixer, wherein the manufacturing of the motionless mixer is simple and at low cost, and wherein the number of welds or means to connect the respective blade elements of the motionless mixer is reduced, so as to effect a reduction in labor in the method of manufacturing.